EASTBOURNE— Former champion Madison Keys defeated No.5 seed Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-3 in an all-American semifinal to return to the Rothesay International final after a nine-year gap, here on Friday.
Keys' upset of Gauff is her first grass-court win over a Top 10 player since she beat Angelique Kerber to win the 2014 Rothesay International final. Overall, it was the 24th Top 10 victory of her career.
The 28-year-old found the breakthrough at 2-2 in the opening set, after attacking a short serve from Gauff and eventually taking the first set.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]Looking to shift the momentum in her favour, the 19-year-old Gauff grasped an early break in the second set before Keys fought back to level the scoreboard.
After finding another late break on her compatriot's serve, Keys felt the pressure when tasked to serve for the match but eventually secured the victory on her fourth match point to book her spot in the final.
With her semifinal win on Friday, Keys now has a chance to add another grass-court title to her collection. She fired 19 winners and converted four of her seven break points to topple Gauff.
Seeking her seventh career singles title overall, she will now go on to face Daria Kasatkina, against whom she has an 8-2 head-to-head lead.